


A Little Blood Never Hurt Anyone

by androgynousclintbarton



Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Kakashi Hatake/MaitoGai (Mention), Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:47:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24846286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androgynousclintbarton/pseuds/androgynousclintbarton
Summary: Kakashi gets captured on the way home from a mission.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 121





	A Little Blood Never Hurt Anyone

When Kakashi woke up, he was a little annoyed to find that he was blind. There was nothing wrong with his eyes, but there was a large metal-like object sitting over them that he couldn't figure out how to get off.

Trying to shove it off his head didn't work, he couldn't find a clip or lock to break. 

He was stuck with it for the time being, but that was OK. He could handle that.

He sniffed the air instead, searching for any sign of someone else in the room with him. 

There was no one. 

Other than the large metal blindfold, there was nothing else restraining him or blocking out any of his other senses. 

The sharingan, that must be it. Whoever had captured him had decided that with his sharingan disabled, he was no longer a threat. 

How insulting. 

He sat up in his spot and crossed his legs over each other. There was no point in trying to find an exit quiet yet, he needed more information to make an escape. How many people were there, how big was the complex, how far would he have to go? Depending on the answer to those questions he would know how to proceed. 

His whole body screamed in pain. Chakra exhaustion mixed in with the physical abuse he had taken during the ambush. It made it difficult to focus, but it was nothing compared to the worry in the pit of his stomach.

_ Kakashi had been looking forward to getting home and having a day of rest before his next mission. A visit to the Spa was the first thing he planned to do after grabbing some food. Maybe he would even find Gai and invite him alone.  _

_ Those plans had been sidelined quickly when he sensed the first attack. He had just enough time to get Yamato out of the way before lightning hit the spot he had been standing in just a second ago.  _

_ He had expected a hard fight. There were at least 5 enemies against the two of them, and they had already had a battle during their mission.  _

_ What he had not expected was the moment that Yamato had taken a hit to the chest and crumpled to the ground. He had flipped out at that point. _

_ Unfortunately, no amount of anger made up for the fact that he was near chakra exhaustion and was already in a great deal of pain. The odds of him getting out of this alive were pretty slimb. _

_ So he did what he thought was best and summoned the hound dogs. Specifically Bull, Akino and Pakkun. Though, Pakkun was an automatic summon no matter who else he called.  _

_ As soon as the hounds were there, he grabbed Tenzo's uniform shirt and pulled him up, throwing him over bull's back before he was forced to kick away another attack.  _

_ Pakkun had tried to stay by his side, but he needed the pug to infirm the hokage of what had happened. It was his job to relay information while Bull and Akino protected Tenzo.  _

_ "I'll be fine." That was the last thing he had said before the three hounds left with Tenzo.  _

_ He hoped he wasn't lying.  _

The sound of a door opening brought Kakashi out of his thoughts. He sniffed the air, hoping to get an idea of what was going on.

"Only two of you?" He could hear one of them growling "I feel like I've been underestimated here." 

"I thought you said it would cover the sharingan," so he was right. The stupid thing over his eyes was there to prevent the sharingan from seeing them. "How can he still know how many of us are here?"

"You stink," he responded for the other person, and it was true. One of them smelled like wet grass and flowers, the other smelled like mud and sweat. "Or, did you really capture a hound dog summoner and think it was just the dogs who could smell you?" His nose wasn't as sharp as the dogs of course, but it was good enough in close quarters. 

He just barely dodged the hand that had reached out towards him. He didn't know what it was trying to do, and he wasn't very interested in finding out. 

"You're stubborn for a man who gave up in his fight," the other voice was softer, but there was still a hint of annoyance "or did you just do that to protect your friend."

Tenzo.

He growled, low and angry "you didn't get him so stop trying to play mind games with me." He knew this game all too well. They had taught them about it at the academy. The friend you tried to save but couldn't. 

He had no doubt that Bull, Akino and Pakkun had gotten Tenzo to safety. They never failed him. 

"A smart one," a chuckle followed those words "I guess we really did underestimate you. The only thing anyone knows about Kakashi Hatake, is his sharingan."

It was true, and Kakashi was partially to blame for that. He preferred to over use the sharingan in battle rather than give away his own skills. If people thought he was only a danger because of Obito's eye, they would underestimate him.

It always worked. 

This time when the enemy reached out to grab him, Kakashi lashed out. He didn't have enough chakra for a ninjutsu attack, but he still had his limbs. His foot slammed into the man's stomach, sending him stumbling backwards as Kakashi settled on his feet, ready to attack again if he had to. 

"This is going to take a bit more effort." Suddenly two distinct scents became 6, and Kakashi had to wonder where the extra came in. He had only been attacked by 5 people originally. 

Whatever they had in mind for him, he was not going to play along. 

Thankfully, sparring with Gai had taught him a lot about taijutsu, and since his enemies hadn't thought he was enough of a threat to chain him up, his arms and legs were free for use.

And he used them well. 

He was certain he broke one guys ribs, managed to slam another one into a wall, and there was no doubt he had left bruises on every single one of them. 

All in all, he was damn proud of himself even when a hand finally caught him on the back of the neck and shoved him forward while someone else twisted his arms behind his back. 

"Now," the second voice spoke up, obviously coming from what he could assume was the leader of this ragtag team of assholes. "Let's have a little chat, hmmm?"

Chat? Well, that word never ended well when one person was being held down and prevented from having full use of their body.

It never ended well at all. 

He was only proven right when instead of talking to him, the bastard grabbed his face in a painful hold, digging his nails into the skin under his mask. 

“You’re going to tell me all you know about Konoha. Every secret and weakness that you can remember,” if it weren’t for the fabric of his mask, he was sure the bastards nails would be cutting into his skin with how hard they were digging in “and when you’ve spilled every last juicy detail, then maybe I’ll be nice enough to let you die.”

Kakashi chuckled. They really chose the wrong person for this.

“Throw everything you got at me,” he challenged with a smirk “I’m not telling you shit.” 

The hand in his face disappeared. 

“Gladly.” That was the last thing he heard before feeling something sharp digging into his stomach.

* * *

“Day two,” The words jolted Kakashi back to consciousness. He wasn’t sure when he had passed out, but it was probably sometime around when he had been stabbed for the fifteenth time. His hands shot up to protect himself, but they didn’t make it very far before they were stopped by a very short chain. “I wonder how long you’ll hold out. The last person only made it three days, and he was much older than you. More experienced.”

There was a sick pleasure in the bastard's voice. One that told Kakashi he was in for a very painful ride. Unfortunately, in his current condition he stood no chance against the 6 shinobi he knew about, and that wasn’t even touching on the fact that he had no idea if there were anymore, or what the place looked like. He was just going to have to settle in for whatever the bastard had planned until he could figure something out. 

“Even with your eyes covered I can see that mind working,” a laugh followed the words. “I wonder if you can figure out a plan. Are you even capable of doing anything without your eyesight?” it was true that being blinded like this was making things more difficult, but that wasn’t going to stop him. He would figure something out.

He had to.

A chair scraped against the floor, telling him that the man had moved from his spot. His nose confirmed this fact when the smell of grass started to get stronger. He was walking towards him. 

The last thing he wanted was the bastard getting any closer to him. Who knows what weapon he had in his hand, or what else he might use to cause him more pain. He may not be able to escape, but he could still use every skill in his arsenal to make his job difficult. 

He pulled his left leg up, smirking when he noticed that they had failed to chain his legs down to the ground. That was a mistake he was going to take advantage of. 

Planting his hands on the ground, he shifted his weight onto his palms and kicked out, grunting when a hand wrapped around his leg and pulled his leg upwards. “Clever,” the man sounded unimpressed by his attempt to knock him onto his ass “I did tell them to chain your legs. Their talents make up for their stupidity, thankfully”

With one leg trapped in the bastard's grip, Kakashi was forced to use the other one, but this time he didn’t just try to kick the bastard. Obviously that wouldn’t work. Instead of aiming for his chest or stomach, Kakashi targeted the hand currently holding him up in the air. At least he knew exactly where that was.

“Bastard,” a triumphant smirk plastered itself onto his face when the man pulled his hand away and took a step back, allowing him to land back on his feet. Really, he had sort of expected to get caught again, but apparently his reaction time was just a little better. “Fine, we’ll play it that way.”

He just narrowly avoided taking a fist to the face. The stench of wet grass getting too close too fast cluing him in just in time for him to dodge the fist. 

He kicked out towards his target, grunting when his foot was caught once more and lifted up into the air. Before he could kick out again, he found himself tossed against the wall behind him, a scream ripping out from his throat when his shoulder cracked under the pressure of the hit. He hadn’t realized his opponent was strong enough to bust bones just by tossing him against a wall.

His body hit the ground, pain radiating out from his shoulder all the way down his arm. This was going to make things a lot more difficult for him.

“Are we done playing already?” there was that sickening sound of pleasure. It made his stomach curdle. “You break so easily.”

That wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. Kakashi knew better than anyone how much damage he could take, and it was more than most people seemed to think. It was as if his body refused to give in, no matter how much he bleed or the fact that anyone else in his position would have died long ago. 

No, a broken shoulder wasn’t going to be the end of it. It was just going to be an annoyance later on.

“I’m still not going to tell you shit,” He growled, trying his best to ignore the screaming pain in his shoulder “You may as well quit trying now.” 

“Cute,” for the second time, a hand grabbed his face. This man really had no idea what boundaries were. “But you’re not the first one to say that, kid.”

His growl was rewarded with those nails digging into his skin again. He was guaranteed to have bruises on his face if this kept up. Good thing he always wore a mask. 

“So? Get to it then,” he insisted, tired of the waiting. If he was going to have to listen to the bastard he could at least stab him some more. That hurt a lot less than having to listen to that gravely arrogant voice. “I hope you brought a better weapon with you this time. The last one was so weak that I felt like I was being tickled.” It was a lie of course. His stab wounds still hurt like hell, a dull ache compared to the busted shoulder, but it still hurt. 

“I brought something much better,” the hand left his chin as someone else walked into the room. Problem was, Kakashi heard them but he couldn’t smell them. There was no mud, or smoke. Nothing. “Oh, you won’t be able to smell her, mutt.” A mist shinobi, it had to be. They were the only one’s he knew of that could cover their scent so that even a hound couldn’t track them. 

The urge to bite the bastard's hand off only intensified at the insulting nickname. 

“Don’t worry,” the new voice was softer and higher pitched. It also sounded much younger than the bastards, around his age, maybe just a few years older. “He’ll be spilling his guts by the time i’m done with him.”

Kakashi straightened himself up against the wall, ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he listened to the footsteps getting closer. There was no need to talk anymore. He had nothing else to say.

He was just going to have to prove that they wouldn’t be getting any information out of him.

“Leave him alive when you’re done,” that was not something he wanted to hear. “I still want to see if i can have some fun.”

“Sure thing,” footsteps, but this time they were moving away from him. So was the smell of wet grass. For the first time since he had arrived he was scared. He could handle being blind, his nose made up for that. But with no scent to latch on to he was flying completely blind. He had no idea where his enemy was standing, what they were doing.

He knew nothing.

So when he felt water being poured over him suddenly, he was more than a little surprised. He hadn’t even heard any signs before he was suddenly drenched.

“Oh no,” he grumbled under his breath, “what will I do now that I'm wet? This is so horrible.” He knew he was just asking for it, he never doubted that sass would be followed by more pain. It was just too fun. For some reason it made everything easier knowing he had enough control over himself that he could still sass back. 

So when electricity followed, coursing through his body and setting every nerve on fire, he wasn’t at all surprised. Any idiot would know what was going to follow a water jutsu that did nothing but soak you. 

His jaw clenched, refusing to allow him to scream. He wouldn’t give them that satisfaction, not again.

They were going to have to do a lot worse to get to him.

As suddenly as the electricity had hit him, it was gone again. His body relaxed against the wall and his jaw unclenched, allowing him to catch his breath. This was going to suck a lot more than he had originally thought.

“Ready to talk yet, pup?” he growled in response “you’re right, if it was this easy it would be no fun.”

Once again the electricity hit, causing his whole body to go ridged as his nerves screamed out in pain.

He needed an escape. A way to forget about the pain for just a moment.

Gai had always told him he was the king of dissociating, so maybe it was time to use that to his advantage.

The pain subsided into the background, turning into a dull ache as he fell into his own memories to escape.

_ “Senpai,” Yamato whined, following him through the crowded village market “You said we were going to the training field.” _

_ Who looked forward to training? _

_ Scratch that. _

_ Who other than Maito Gai looked forward to training? _

_ “We are going to the training field,” he assured his partner “We’re just picking someone else up before we head out. And stop calling me that.” The word still made him uncomfortable. Honoraries were for people who were good. People who had done something worthy of respect in their lives. _

_ That was not Kakashi. _

_ “But i look up to you,” Yamato repeated those same words again. They would probably keep saying it until Kakashi started to believe them. Problem was, he wasn’t someone Yamato should be looking up to, hence why he was currently looking for a far better role model “And who do we even have to pick up? Our team is currently only two people.” _

_ “He’s not part of our team,” Well, not their Anbu team at least. He was part of Kakashi’s team of ‘precious people who haven’t died on me yet’ though. “He’s a friend. We train together all the time.” _

_ “If you say so.” Yamato sighed. _

_ Kakashi was about to say something when he saw a familiar flash of green in the corner of his eye. Turning his attention towards it, he held up a hand and called out “Oy, Gai!” _

_ Gai searched through the crowd for the person who had called out to him, a smile breaking out across his face when his eyes finally landed on Kakashi.  _

_ “Rival!” He could feel the moment Tenzo moved behind him, glaring at the green clad shinobi as he rushed towards them and stopped right in front of Kakashi “It’s rare for you to call me. Is something wrong?” _

_ He really needed to work on his friendship if Gai thought the only reason he would call out to him was because there was a problem. _

_ “No,” he waved a dismissive hand “nothing like that. I was just wondering if you wanted to join us for some training.” _

_ In all honesty, he wanted to see how Gai and Tenzo worked together. What kind of fighting style they would adapt in order to become a team. It was information he needed for some reason, even if he couldn’t explain to himself why exactly he needed it. _

_ “Us?” Gai’s eyes flickered over to the man hiding behind him with an angry look “Oh, you made a friend?” _

_ That sounded like doubt in his voice, and if Kakashi wasn’t completely aware of the fact that he was incapable of making friends most of the time he would be insulted. _

_ “Tenzo is my new partner,” he explained “and my friend, yes.” He could practically feel the heat radiating off of Tenzo. they always got embarrassed so easily “we were heading to the training field for a bit of practice and I thought you might want to join. If not…” _

_ He started to turn around, making it look like he was going to head off without Gai. The hand that came down on his shoulder to stop him told him that Gai did not like that idea at all. _

_ “I didn’t say no,” Gai objected, rolling his eyes when Kakashi smiled up at him. He always realized too late that Kakashi had played him “But shouldn’t I actually meet your new friend first? before I beat him up in a spar?” _

_ Huh, he hadn’t thought of that. Of course, Gai had always been his guide to proper human interactions. He had never been great at those. _

_ “Dumplings?” he chuckled when Gai beamed at him in return “What do you say Tenzo? We can have a small dumpling break while Gai gets to know you, right?” _

_ Tenzo huffed behind him, his eyes still glued on Gai. Kakashi knew that he was trying to get a read on Gai, but this was one person he wouldn’t learn to understand just by looking at them. Gai didn’t work that way.  _

_ “Dumplings sound good,” they finally muttered, their eyes leaving Gai to look back over at Kakashi “and then training?” _

_ “Yes Tenzo, and then training.” Really, he was starting to think he had a ‘type’.  _

Nothing.

He heard nothing when he started to slip back into reality. Smelled nothing. He couldn’t tell if he was alone, or if he was still stuck in the room with the mist shinobi. There was no indication that she had moved, but of course he wouldn’t have noticed.

“Are you back with me?” that answered his question. She must have stopped what she was doing when it became obvious that he had removed his mind from the situation. How she could tell, he wouldn’t know. Of course, his Sensei’s at the academy had always said some people could tell. That they would wait until you stopped distancing yourself from the pain before they continued. 

“I just got so bored I thought i would take a nap,” Judging by the annoyed ‘tsk’ he heard, he had successfully managed to get under her skin “really, i thought interrogators were supposed to be better at this job. I’ve given myself worse shocks with my own jutsu’s.”

That wasn’t a complete lie. The process of perfecting his Chidori had resulted in a lot of shocks, and some of them had been worse than most electric attacks he had been hit with during his missions. 

“Fine, I don’t need electricity to get you to talk.” He did not like the sounds of that. That sounded like a very angry Shinobi out to prove their strengths, and that never ended well for anyone on the receiving side of that anger.

There was no warning before the next attack hit. One minute he was sitting there in silence waiting, and the next he could feel the water surrounding his head.

Suffocation.

That was a little more effective than electric shocks.

Even when he tried to disassociate he found it impossible. The lack of air going into his lungs kept him cemented in reality. Focused on the burning in his throat as the oxygen started to fade from his body. 

When the water finally dropped, he lowered his head and started to cough. Trying to force the little bit of water that had gotten into his throat out so that he could replace it with some much needed air.

“It seems you’re forced to pay attention when you can’t breath,” he really wished he could ignore the pleased sound in her voice. He had no desire for a repeat of what had just happened.

Of course, he didn’t get a choice in the matter. He just had to prep himself a little better. Avoid getting water in his lungs. It would make his life a lot easier when she dropped her attack and allowed him to breath again if he didn’t have to get water out.

“Are you going to talk or…” he cut her off when he started to laugh.

“How many times do i have to tell you?” It was an honest question because they really didn’t seem to understand “i’m not telling you shit.”

“We’ll see about that.” That was his warning. Before the water hit him he was able to take a deep breath and hold. For the first 2 minutes it was fine, but of course it didn’t stay that way. Oxygen became scarce and before he knew it he was forced to release his hold and breath. Problem was, there was no oxygen to breath in. Just water. Ton’s of water.

It felt like hours before she dropped the attack, allowing him to bend over and cough up the water that had managed to get into his throat. She didn’t give him any time to get that much needed oxygen though. As soon as the water was out the attack was back in place. 

Time became none existent after that. Seconds, minutes, hours. He couldn’t tell them apart.

All he knew was the burning feeling in his throat as his lungs begged for air. Demanded it. 

Sometimes she let him get in a few breaths in before bringing her jutsu back up. He had a feeling that had more to do with keeping him alive rather than her actually trying to be nice. 

The jutsu was dropped once again. He didn’t know how many times it had been used on him, but it didn’t return when he had started to breath again so he assumed it was time for a break.

An opportunity for her to ask him that stupid question again.

“So,” his head snapped up when he heard that gravely voice from his first attacker. His nose should have told him that the bastard had shown up, but his sense of smell was off because of all of the water. “Are you ready to talk yet?”

Right now was a moment he wished he had enough Chakra for an attack. Wiping the smug sound out of the bastard's voice would be so satisfying. It would make everything he had dealt with so far worth it.

There wasn’t enough chakra though, and there wouldn’t be for at least another day. His body still needed rest and it wasn’t getting nearly enough with the constant torture it was being put under. 

“It was just getting to the good part,” He insisted, laughing when he heard his current interrogator growling “I was having so much fun I lost track of time.”

“Your Sensei must be so proud,” he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but since it seemed to piss them off so much he settled on laughter “They trained a suicidal idiot.”

“Well, he did try his best,” he shrugged “there’s only so much you can do with a lost cause.”

Minato-Sensei would slap him if he ever heard him call himself that. Thankfully, a dead man can’t slap you. 

That familiar scent of wet grass finally hit him again, but it showed up a little too late. He had no time to react when he realized how close the bastard was, and the punch he took to the face knocked him right out. 

  
  


_ Blood _

_ He could smell blood everywhere. On his clothes, his hands, his mask. It dripped off of every inch of his skin.  _

_ His father's blood, Rin’s blood, Obito’s blood, Minato Sensei’s blood.  _

_ He could see all of their faces. All of their bodies. _

_ Blood dripping from their wounds onto his hands. Covering him as they hovered over him. _

_ “Stop…” he begged, trying to wipe the blood off of him. “Please stop.” _

_ It didn’t stop. It never stopped. Not since he was 5 years old standing over his father's bloody, lifeless corpse.  _

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Freezing cold water splashed against his face, pulling him out of his dreams and back into consciousness. “Rude,” he grumbled, pushing himself up off of the floor and moving his legs so that he could sit up “I was having such a nice dream.”

He growled when he heard a chain moving with his leg. Apparently they had decided to fix the issue of him trying to kick them. It was kind of funny knowing that a bunch of grown adults were sufficiently terrified of him that they felt the need to use more chains to keep him under control. 

“We thought it was time for a chat,” Again with the ‘chat’ bullshit. When were they going to realize that he wasn’t going to talk “We’re on day three, you must be getting tired.”

That was a stupid thing to say. Of course he was tired. He was still recovering from his mission, his shoulder was most definitely fractured at minimum, and he had been stabbed, electrocuted and drowned. He was exhausted.

Didn’t mean he was going to start talking. He knew as well as any other shinobi what happened to someone who talked. If his captors didn’t kill him he would never be able to go back to Konoha again. He would be a failure in their eyes.

He’d be his father, but even worse.

“So,” he straightened himself up against the wall “what do you have for me today? Fire? Wind? Ohhh maybe genjutsu?” if he couldn’t attack them he could at least keep trying to piss them off. At least it provided him with some sort of entertainment. 

“Do you use that mouth of yours for anything useful?” That was a creepy question. One he would prefer not to answer, but that was probably what the bastard was hoping for.

“I’ve been told it’s best not to,” it was true. Gai took one look at his teeth and practically begged him to never try and give him a blow job. It took a lot of convincing and agreeing to some frankly ridiculous rules to get Gai to let him try it out. There had been repeats so obviously his teeth hadn’t been an issue. “Of course if you want to try…”

That was an offer he really hoped they didn’t try to take up. Sometimes he spoke before he had time to think, and this was definitely one of those moments. 

For the third time since he had first woken up in this hell hole the bastard grabbed his chin. He was really starting to get fed up with it. This time though, he didn’t just hold Kakashi’s face up. He used his grip to hold Kakashi’s face in place as he hooked a finger under the top of his mask. 

It was effective too. When Kakashi tried to pull his face away the bastard simply dug his nails in and tugged the mask down, leaving his face exposed. After hours of physical torture, losing his mask was what finally made him snap. He locked onto the thumb that was currently digging into his cheek and forced his face towards it. As soon as he had chomped down on the limb he could hear screaming as the other hand came down into his hair and grabbed a fist full of silver stands, tugging his head back violently to try and get him to release his grip.

He refused to, digging his teeth in more and growling. 

If this was the game they wanted to play, he would play. It wasn’t his fault they didn’t like the results.

“Let go you little bastard!” another sharp tug on his hair resulted in him clenching his jaw. He tried to ignore the metallic taste, but it filled his mouth more as he bit down harder on the thumb. “Fucking mutt!” a sharp kick to the stomach was met with an even harder bite, the taste of blood overwhelming him as the thumb severed from its owner and he was shoved back against the wall. 

He curled into himself and spat. He wasn’t sure where the thumb ended up, but it wasn’t in his mouth anymore so that was definitely a bonus. 

Unfortunately, the blood was still there. Against his tongue, running down his face. He must look a damn sight spitting up someone else's blood. 

The hand in his hair disappeared. He was certain the bastard was pulling it back so he could nurse the thumbless hand he now had, but he was quickly proven wrong when a fist sent him crashing to the ground. 

“Stubborn little fuck.” another kick to the stomach and he was coughing up more blood. This time he was sure some of it was his own. 

Suddenly all the scents disappeared. His nose was full of blood when a foot came up into his face, leaving him unable to smell anything else. 

He was completely blind now. No eyes and no nose. He had no idea where the bastard was, so it was a surprise when the hand returned to his hair and pulled him back so that he was forced onto his knees looking up towards the ceiling.

“I’m looking forward to making you talk, mutt,” anger. There was nothing but anger in the man’s voice now, the most dangerous emotion in Kakashi’s experience. “And when you finally tell me everything i want to know, i’ll make sure to leave a pretty present for your precious hounds to find.”

His hounds. He wondered when the man had realized they would come back for him. That they would be able to pick up his scent no matter where he was.

That help was coming. 

“You may as well kill me now,” he growled “I'm not telling you shit.”

A chuckle followed his words. “You can play brave all you want kid, i know you’re not that keen to die.” 

“You don’t know shit about me.” there was nothing more he wanted at this point. He would rather die than become a failure shunned by his village. He had given up too much. Lost too much. He wasn’t about to give up all his hard work by putting his village in danger. 

Besides, the world would be better off with him dead. He had done enough damage in his 21 years of life. Maybe if he died today more people wouldn’t have to.

The grip on his hair was released, allowing him to fall forward into the ground. The blood on his face washing off into the water that had been left on the ground from his last visitor.

Water.

He sat up slowly, cringing when his body screamed at him to stop. To just take a moment and lay there.

He didn’t have a moment though. If he didn’t act now there was no doubt he would be hit again. Hell, even when he did sit up he expected another fist to the face or a foot to the stomach.

His back slammed into the wall and his shoulder screamed in pain. 

“You know, you called your own people stupid,” he laughed when he heard the water move with the man’s feet. “But i think you forget that a team is only as dumb as their leader.”

Another fist to the face, but this time he had braced himself and was able to keep himself up against the wall. His hands moved behind his back, and god did he hope the bastard didn’t notice.

“I’m going to enjoy cutting that tongue of yours out when you don’t need it to speak anymore.” that didn’t sound pleasant. In fact, he’d really rather avoid that part. Gai loved his tongue so much, after all. 

“Ya?” He smiled, and oh god did that hurt. “Well, i’m going to enjoy this.” his hands moved quickly, weaving into familiar signs before slamming down into the water that soaked the ground.

Both of them screamed. Him because of the pain in his shoulder from forcing his hands down in such an awkward position, the enemy because of the electricity that filled the room and bounced off of the water before hitting him, making it even more painful. 

He held his hands there, determined to use up his chakra as much as possible. There wasn’t much left after all, perhaps if he held the attack long enough he could use the last of it.

If he did, he’d drop. There would be no chance he gave them the information they wanted and he would be free from this hell hole.

Maybe he’d see his dad again. 

He didn’t get his way.

Something, wind judging by the way it sliced into his cheek, hit him in the face and broke his concentration. The jutsu faded away and he heard the exact moment the bastard hit the ground. 

The room was silent after that. The only thing he could hear was the movement of feet and the slight grunt of someone being pulled to their feet. 

It didn’t matter either way. He could feel his consciousness slipping away. He had used just enough chakra to exhaust himself completely. Worse than when he had first gotten here. Before long he would pass out and no amount of water or noise would wake him up for a few hours.

Maybe help would show up before then.

Maybe they’d kill him in his sleep.

Either option was a win for him.

A hand grabbing his face, forcing his head up as someone knelt down in front of him. He assumed it was the bastard, since he was the only one to touch him so far. 

“When you wake up, I'll make you wish you were dead.” it was the last thing he heard before his brain shut down completely and everything went dark. 

* * *

  
  
  
  


Water splashing. That was the first sound that hit him when he started to gain consciousness again. Maybe they had waited, Maybe they were just checking to see if he was awake. It didn’t matter. He’d play unconscious as long as necessary.

Something nudged his leg, but he refused to give. He would play dead as long as he had to. Pakkun had taught him well when it came to playing dead.

“Pup,” a whimper. He lifted his head and hissed when his body screamed in protest “relax pup, helps on the way.” 

He did as he was told, relaxing against the wall as Pakkun settled beside his feet, pressing his tiny body up against his leg so that he could tell he was there. So he knew he wasn’t alone.

“Tenzo…” his voice was weak. He hadn’t realized how tired he was until now.

“He’s at Konoha hospital.” That was reassuring. At least he hadn’t gone through all of this for nothing.

His hounds had gotten Tenzo to safety.

Outside the door he could hear fighting. Screaming, arguing, grunting. It filled the air, and he really hoped whoever had come after him was winning.

For once he was looking forward to going home.

Pakkun shifted when the door swung completely open, growing when he saw who was there. That wasn’t good.

“Now there’s two mutts?” There was that voice again. The bastard was back and Kakashi was certain it wasn’t going to end well.

He purses his lips, letting out a low whistle loud enough to travel through at least three rooms.

Hopefully it was enough.

“If you think that’s going to save you…” pakkun moved from his side, likely taking a protective stance in front of him “fucking dog.” He didn’t need his nose or eyes to know what was coming next. His foot moved on instinct and shoved Pakkun out of the way, talking the bastards kick to the shin in order to protect his hound dog.

He screamed in pain, but it was soon drowned out by the other man’s screams mixed in with the sound of a very angry Bulldog digging his teeth into the man’s skin.

There was no hope for the bastard now. Once bull latched onto a target they were done for. He had never been thrown off by an enemy, and he rarely left them in one piece. 

The only way he would stop was if Kakashi told him to.

He was too tired to tell bull to stop, and he had no desire to. Perhaps the bastard shouldn’t have tried interrogating a hound dog summoner if he didn’t want to be ripped apart by the largest dog in the pack.

Blood splattered against his face. He was certain that if he could smell, it would reek. 

After a while, the screams died down. He didn’t need his eyes to know what the scene in front of him looked like. He had seen the results of Bull’s strength and ruthlessness before and it always looked the same.

“Pup,” Pakkun nudged his leg again, pulling his attention back over to him “can you walk on your own?”

Kakashi laughed “not a chance.” He admitted. He could already imagine Gai swooping in dramatically and throwing him onto his back once the chains were off. 

He wished he could bury his nose into the man’s neck and surround himself with that familiar gentle smell. Dumplings and sunflowers. 

Water splashing brought his attention back to reality. His back stiffened, ready for another fight.

He relaxed when Bull stepped up to his side and licked the blood off of the left side of his face.

Relax. Bull was telling him to relax. That he was safe.

“Gai…” his body slouched as he slipped into unconsciousness again. He was safe. He didn’t have to fight anymore.

Gai would get him home.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Shikaku stepped into the room, growling when he saw the state Kakashi was in. There was blood all over his face, staining the water around him. 

He stepped forward, avoiding the remains of Bull’s latest victim. 

“You really got yourself into a mess this time, kid.” he sighed, kneeling down and checking the chains that were holding Kakashi down.The locks didn’t look like they would be difficult to pick, the problem was going to be the thing covering Kakashi’s eyes. Even if it was easy to take off it probably wasn’t the best idea to do it quiet yet. They had no idea how long it had been over the kids eyes. Taking it off now risked doing irreparable damage. That was best left to the doctors in Konoha. 

“All Enemies are down,” Shikaku’s shoulders relaxed when he heard Inoichi entering the room with the good news. “Fuck...i take it this is your work?”

He didn’t need to look back at his teammate to know that he was glaring at the giant Bull Dog. Inoichi was perfectly fine with murder, but the absolute carnage that usually came with working with Sakumo-Sensei’s Hound Dogs had never sat well with him. “Did you even think of leaving any part of the guy together? He probably died after you ripped off the second limb.”

“If he wanted to be left alive, he shouldn’t have picked a blood hound summoner to torture,” Shikaku argued as he worked on unlocking the chains. “You want to search him? He might have keys to these damn things. Save us a bit of time.”

He could hear Inoichi groan. Searching the carnage Bull had left behind was probably the last thing he wanted to do, but if it got them out of there quicker he would. 

“Here,” something smacked him in the back of the head, and he was certain Inoichi knew he was going to die later for that because he could already feel the blood that had been on the keys now sticking to his skin. “Shit...sorry…”

Swiping the keys off of the ground he found the one he was looking for and started to unlock Kakashi’s chains. “How is it that you can throw a Kunai perfectly, but every time you try to toss something you always hit me instead of putting it on the ground beside me?”

It really was starting to get annoying. 

Unlocking the last of the chains, Shikaku threw the metal off to the side and tucked his arms under Kakashi’s small frame, lifting him off of the ground with a grunt and turning towards Inoichi. “Choza?”

“He’s waiting by the door,” Inoichi assured him “Making sure no one else comes to try and pick a fight.”

“Good.” He held Kakashi a little closer, sighing when the kid whispered out his best friend's name “Time to go home.”


End file.
